Content distribution and tracking

Abstract

A computer-implemented method for tracking multimedia content includes generating a first feature vector of a first multimedia object, extracting a second multimedia object from a transmission of digital traffic, generating a second feature vector of the second multimedia object, and determining a similarity of the second feature vector to the first feature vector. Responsively to the similarity, the second multimedia object is identified as an instance of the first multimedia object.

1 . A computer-implemented method for tracking multimedia content, comprising:
 generating a first feature vector of a first multimedia object;   extracting a second multimedia object from a transmission of digital traffic;   generating a second feature vector of the second multimedia object;   determining a similarity of the second feature vector to the first feature vector; and   responsively to the similarity, identifying the second multimedia object as an instance of the first multimedia object.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein identifying the second multimedia object as an instance of the first multimedia object comprises identifying the second multimedia object as a variation of the first multimedia object notwithstanding a difference between the first and second multimedia objects. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein generating the first feature vector comprises generating a first coarse feature vector and a first fine feature vector, and wherein generating the second feature vector comprises generating a second coarse feature vector and a second fine feature vector, and wherein determining the similarity comprises determining a coarse similarity between the first coarse feature vector and the second coarse feature vector and subsequently determining a fine similarity between the first fine feature vector and the second fine feature vector. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein determining the coarse similarity comprises determining that the first multimedia object is a candidate for a process of determining a fine similarity if the coarse similarity satisfies a predetermined criterion. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the first and second coarse feature vectors each comprise multiple feature vectors of increasing levels of granularity and wherein determining the coarse similarity comprises determining increasingly more granular coarse similarities according to the increasing levels. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein generating the first coarse feature vector comprises indexing the first coarse feature vector to a group of one or more cells of a hyper-grid, and wherein determining the coarse similarity comprises determining that the second coarse feature vector corresponds to at least one index of the group. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein generating the first coarse feature vector comprises indexing the first coarse feature vector according to a clustered cell of a clustered cell space, wherein generating the second coarse feature vector comprises identifying a set of clustered cells overlapped by a region around the second coarse feature vector, and wherein determining the coarse similarity comprises determining that the first coarse feature vector is in the set of overlapped clustered cells and within the region around the second coarse feature vector. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein generating the coarse feature vector comprises generating a normalized version of the multimedia object, dividing the normalized version into a set of blocks, and summing elements of each block in the set to generate coefficients of the coarse feature vector. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein generating the first feature vector comprises storing the first 3 feature vector in a media database, and comprising, responsively to identifying the second multimedia object as a variation of the first multimedia object, storing the second feature vector in the media database with an identifier indicating that the first and second multimedia objects share common content. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the transmission is a first transmission, wherein the similarity is a first similarity, and comprising extracting a third multimedia object from a second transmission of digital traffic, generating a third feature vector of the third multimedia object, determining a similarity of the third feature vector to the second feature vector, and responsively to determining the similarity, identifying the third multimedia object as an instance of the first multimedia object. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the transmission is a first transmission, and comprising extracting the first multimedia object from a second transmission of digital traffic generated by a content provider prior to extracting the second multimedia object. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , and comprising:
 logging a record of a tracking event responsively to identifying the second multimedia object as an instance of the first multimedia object, wherein the record comprises an identifier of the first multimedia object and an identifier of a sender of the second multimedia object; and   using the record to generate a report on distribution of the first multimedia object.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the transmission is sent by a user, and comprising rewarding the user responsively to identifying the second multimedia object as an instance of the first multimedia object. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first multimedia object is provided by a content provider, and comprising providing compensation to the content provider responsively to identifying the second multimedia object as an instance of the first multimedia object. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first multimedia object promotes goods or services offered by an advertiser, and comprising charging a fee to the advertiser responsively to identifying the second multimedia object as an instance of the first multimedia object. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , and comprising applying a predetermined rule to the transmission of the second multimedia object responsively to identifying the second multimedia object as an instance of the first multimedia object. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein applying the predetermined rule comprises locking or deleting the second multimedia object to limit distribution. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein applying the predetermined rule comprises modifying a quality of the second multimedia object. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the transmission comprises a multimedia message, and wherein applying the predetermined rule comprises adding additional content to the multimedia message. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the additional content promotes viral distribution of the multimedia message. 
     
     
         21 . A computer-implemented method for distributing content over a network, comprising:
 receiving content for distribution from a content provider;   distributing the content to one or more first users on the network;   monitoring network traffic transmitted by the one or more first users;   identifying a transmission of the content in the network traffic from at least one of the first users to one or more second users; and   responsively to identifying the transmission of the content, providing respective rewards to both the content provider and to the at least one of the first users.   
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein providing the respective rewards comprises providing to the at least one of the first users a modified price for a network service. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein providing the respective rewards comprises providing further content to the at least one of the first users. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein receiving the content comprises generating a first feature vector, and wherein identifying the transmission of the content comprises generating a second feature vector and further comprises determining a similarity of the second feature vector to the first feature vector. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein generating the first feature vector comprises storing the first feature vector in a media database, and comprising, responsively to identifying the transmission of the content, storing the second feature vector in the media database with an identifier indicating that the first and second feature vectors are derived from common content. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein identifying the transmission of the content comprises logging a record of the transmission, and comprising using the record to generate a report on distribution of the content. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein identifying the transmission of the content comprises applying a predetermined rule to the transmission of the content. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein applying the predetermined rule comprises locking or deleting the content to limit distribution. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein applying the predetermined rule comprises modifying a quality of the content. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein applying the predetermined rule comprises adding additional content to the transmission. 
     
     
         31 . A computer-implemented method for distributing content over a network, comprising:
 distributing content to one or more first users on the network, the content promoting goods or services offered by an advertiser;   monitoring network traffic transmitted by the one or more first users;   identifying a transmission of the content in the network traffic from at least one of the first users to one or more second users; and   responsively to identifying the transmission, providing a reward to the at least one of the first users and charging the advertiser for the transmission.   
     
     
         32 . Apparatus for tracking multimedia content, comprising:
 a monitor adapted to monitor a transmission of digital traffic and to extract multimedia objects from the transmission; and   a manager adapted to generate a first feature vector of a first multimedia object, to generate a second feature vector of a second multimedia object extracted from the digital traffic by the monitor, to determine a similarity of the second feature vector to the first feature vector, and, responsively to the similarity, to identify the second multimedia object as an instance of the first multimedia object.   
     
     
         33 . The apparatus of  claim 32 , wherein the manager is adapted to identify the second multimedia object as an instance of the first multimedia object by identifying the second multimedia object as a variation of the first multimedia object notwithstanding a difference between the first and second multimedia objects. 
     
     
         34 . The apparatus of  claim 33 , wherein the manager is adapted to generate the first feature vector by generating a first coarse feature vector and a first fine feature vector, and to generate the second feature vector by generating a second coarse feature vector and a second fine feature vector, and wherein the manager is further adapted to determine the similarity by determining a coarse similarity between the first coarse feature vector and the second coarse feature vector and by determining subsequently a fine similarity between the first fine feature vector and the second fine feature vector. 
     
     
         35 . The apparatus of  claim 34 , wherein the manager is adapted to determine the coarse similarity by determining that the first multimedia object is a candidate for a process of determining a fine similarity if the coarse similarity satisfies a predetermined criterion. 
     
     
         36 . The apparatus of  claim 34 , wherein the first and second coarse feature vectors each comprise multiple feature vectors of increasing levels of granularity and wherein the manager is adapted to determine the coarse similarity by determining increasingly more granular coarse similarities according to the increasing levels. 
     
     
         37 . The apparatus of  claim 34 , wherein the manager is adapted to generate the first coarse feature vector by indexing the first coarse feature vector to a group of one or more cells of a hyper-grid, and to, determine the coarse similarity by determining that the second coarse feature vector corresponds to at least one index of the group. 
     
     
         38 . The apparatus of  claim 34 , wherein the manager is adapted to generate the first coarse feature vector by indexing the first coarse feature vector according to a clustered cell of a clustered cell space, and to generate the second coarse feature vector by identifying a set of clustered cells overlapped by a region around the second coarse feature vector, and wherein the manager is further adapted to determine the coarse similarity by determining that the first coarse feature vector is in the set of overlapped clustered cells and within the region around the second coarse feature vector. 
     
     
         39 . The apparatus of  claim 34 , wherein the manager is adapted to generate the coarse feature vector by generating a normalized version of the multimedia object, by dividing the normalized version into a set of blocks, and by summing elements of each block in the set to generate coefficients of the coarse feature vector. 
     
     
         40 . The apparatus of  claim 33 , wherein the manager is adapted to generate the first feature vector by storing the first feature vector in a media database, and wherein the manager is further adapted, responsively to identifying the second multimedia object as a variation of the first multimedia object, to store the second feature vector in the media database with an identifier indicating that the first and second multimedia objects share common content. 
     
     
         41 . The apparatus of  claim 40 , wherein the transmission is a first transmission, wherein the similarity is a first similarity, and wherein the monitor is adapted to extract a third multimedia object from a second transmission of digital traffic, and wherein the manager is adapted to generate a third feature vector of the third multimedia object, to determine a similarity of the third feature vector to the second feature vector, and responsively to determining the similarity, to identify the third multimedia object as an instance of the first multimedia object. 
     
     
         42 . The apparatus of  claim 32 , wherein the transmission is a first transmission, and wherein the manager is adapted to extract the first multimedia object from a second transmission of digital traffic prior to the extraction of the second multimedia object from the first transmission. 
     
     
         43 . The apparatus of  claim 32 , wherein the manager is adapted to log a record of a tracking event responsively to identifying the second multimedia object as an instance of the first multimedia object, wherein the record comprises an identifier of the first multimedia object and an identifier of a sender of the second multimedia object, and wherein the manager is further adapted to use the record to generate a report on distribution of the first multimedia object. 
     
     
         44 . The apparatus of  claim 32 , wherein the transmission is sent by a user, and wherein the manager is adapted to generate a record indicating a reward due to the user responsively to identifying the second multimedia object as an instance of the first multimedia object. 
     
     
         45 . The apparatus of  claim 32 , wherein the first multimedia object is provided by a content provider, and wherein the manager is adapted to generate a record indicating a compensation due to the content provider responsively to identifying the second multimedia object as an instance of the first multimedia object. 
     
     
         46 . The apparatus of  claim 32 , wherein the first multimedia object promotes goods or services offered by an advertiser, and wherein the manager is adapted to generate a record indicating a charge to the advertiser responsively to identifying the second multimedia object as an instance of the first multimedia object. 
     
     
         47 . The apparatus of  claim 32 , wherein the manager is adapted to apply a predetermined rule to the transmission of the second multimedia object responsively to identifying the second multimedia object as an instance of the first multimedia object. 
     
     
         48 . The apparatus of  claim 47 , wherein the manager is adapted to apply the predetermined rule by locking or deleting the second multimedia object to limit distribution. 
     
     
         49 . The apparatus of  claim 47 , wherein the manager is adapted to apply the predetermined rule by modifying a quality of the second multimedia object. 
     
     
         50 . The apparatus of  claim 47 , wherein the transmission comprises a multimedia message, and wherein the manager is adapted to apply the predetermined rule by adding additional content to the multimedia message. 
     
     
         51 . Apparatus for distributing content over a network, comprising:
 a monitor adapted to monitor network traffic so as to identify a transmission by one or more first users to one or more second users of content provided for distribution by a content provider; and   a manager adapted, responsively to identification of the transmission of the content, to generate a record indicating respective rewards due to both the content provider and to the at least one of the first users.   
     
     
         52 . Apparatus for distributing content over a network, comprising:
 a monitor adapted to monitor network traffic so as to identify a transmission by one or more first users to one or more second users of content promoting goods or services offered by an advertiser; and   a manager adapted, responsively to identification of the transmission of the content, to generate a record indicating a reward due to the at least one of the first users and a charge to the advertiser for the transmission.   
     
     
         53 . A computer software product, comprising a computer-readable medium in which program instructions are stored, which instructions, when read by a computer, cause the computer to generate a first feature vector of a first multimedia object, to receive a second multimedia object extracted from a transmission of digital traffic, to generate a second feature vector of the second multimedia object, to determine a similarity of the second feature vector to the first feature vector, and responsively to the similarity, to identify the second multimedia object as an instance of the first multimedia object. 
     
     
         54 . A computer software product, comprising a computer-readable medium in which program instructions are stored, which instructions, when read by a computer, cause the computer to identify a transmission over a network by one or more first users to one or more second users of content provided for distribution by a content provider, and responsively to identification of the transmission of the content, to generate a record indicating respective rewards due to both the content provider and to the at least one of the first users. 
     
     
         55 . A computer software product, comprising a computer-readable medium in which program instructions are stored, which instructions, when read by a computer, cause the computer to identify a transmission over a network by one or more first users to one or more second users of content promoting goods or services offered by an advertiser, and responsively to identification of the transmission of the content, to generate a record indicating a reward due to the at least one of the first users and a charge to the advertiser for the transmission.